WASHINGTON (AP) — Opening a day focused on both policy and pomp, President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed the relationship between their nations as the cornerstone of efforts to promote peace and prosperity around the world.

The president greeted Merkel as she arrived at the White House on a warm and muggy Tuesday morning in Washington. Dozens of schoolchildren waving U.S. and German flags were among the crowd gathered on the South Lawn for the elaborate arrival ceremony.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks opened higher after four straight days of losses Tuesday. Traders are hoping that Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will indicate in remarks later in the day that any increase in interest rates is a long way off.

NEW YORK (AP) — After days of denials, a choked-up New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner confessed Monday that he tweeted a photo of his bulging underpants to a woman and admitted to "inappropriate" exchanges with six women before and after getting married. He apologized for lying but said he would not resign.

Weiner said at a news conference that he had never personally met any of the women he corresponded with online and sometimes via telephone, and was not even sure of their ages. He also said he had never had sex outside of his marriage.

"This was me doing a dumb thing, and doing it repeatedly, and lying about it," he said.

The drought continued in Los Alamos in May. 2011 has brought only 16 percent of the normal amount of January through May precipitation to Los Alamos. White Rock has had only 7.5 percent of the normal precipitation.

That’s 0.3 inches instead of 4.1 inches through May, with a long way to go to reach the yearly normal 14 inches there. No year has been this dry in Los Alamos County, not since the record began in 1910.

SPRINGERVILLE, Ariz. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service says at least three summer rental cabins have burned in the Wallow wildfire in the White Mountains of eastern Arizona.
Eastern Arizona Incident Management Team spokesman Bill Bishop said the cabins are located in the Beaver Creek area south of Alpine. The U.S. Forest Service says the Wallow fire has burned 165 square miles.
At 106,000 acres, the Wallow fire has now become the fourth-largest in state history.

Those who knew Larry Campbell talk of his generous spirit and his contributions to the community. “I don’t think he knew anyone but friends,” said Nancy Cerutti, senior planner for Los Alamos County Community Development Department.

Laurence (Larry) Campbell died Thursday after a yearlong battle with lung cancer.

He was 74.

“He was a dear man who contributed to the community in a big way,” said Nancy Bartlit, a Los Alamos Historical Society board member.

Campbell retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in 2001 after 35 years of service. He served as president of both the Historical Society and the Rotary Club and on the board of the New Mexico Historical Society.

It’s a familiar scene in New Mexico: Peace activists, environmentalists and scientists lining up to oppose expansions of the military and nuclear facilities that are a major economic engine for the state.

They were back in force last week, this time to oppose the “bomb factory,” ‘’cash cow” and “jobs program for scientists” — their names for a $5.8 billion nuclear lab being designed to replace the 60-year-old lab at Los Alamos National Laboratory where scientists make and store the “pits,” or cores, of the nation’s nuclear bombs. It’s a project that has been on the drawing board for nearly a decade, and one that won’t be finished for at least another decade.

Friday afternoon Hedy Dunn’s title changed from Director of the Los Alamos Historical Museum to Director Emeritus. About 120 people turned out to honor Dunn’s contributions at a retirement party May 22.

“It just won’t be the same without her. Hedy has been a significant part of the society almost since its founding in the late ‘60s. Her legacy to this town is indescribable,” said Nancy Bartlit, who serves on the Los Alamos Historical Society board. “She has been incredibly reliable and dedicated. I’ve always said we’ll need to hire three people to take her place. I’m glad we’ve got Heather to step in.”